woman: t priest would tear the hrt out and offeit to the sun. announcer: aec massacre, on "secrets the dead." tonight onworldfocus" -- >> president obama welcomes iraq's prime minister to the u.s. admist concerns overeasing vionce and ri between ameran and iraqi forces. > stay key link in the u.s. war effort in afanistan and a

source tension between russia and america. tonit, we see whatthe cals think abouthe u.s. military prence in the central nan iotof tion of rzic ta llions tis turn their eyes to the skies. as dawn turned to darkness across that continent itas the loest solar eclipse. plus, brita's take on the u.s. banking cris. a sgment that we like to ll "how they see it." tonight's report from itn is bou to raise eyebrows. frothe world's leading reporters and analysts,ere is what's haening from around the world. this is "worldfocus. made ssible, in part, by theollowing funders -- good evening. i'm martin savidge. prident barack obama and iraqi prime minier nuri al mali sat down face to face today for meetings at the white house squaring offver the

drawdown of amican troops and concer over the rising violence in iraq. today, not far fom baghdad, two bombs expded in a market kill at leastive people and wounding dozens. it washe second day of bombings inhat appears to be a owing campaign of religiou and ethic violence between shiitendunni muslimgs. the united states wants prime ministermalikihiite alliesto share more pow with the mirity sunnis bu a "washington ost"diplomatic correspondenkaren de young ports the iraqi leer has his own set of demands. >> the iraqis i think have sort of a split personality about this. more economic assistance fro the united statn terms of investment. they would like u.s. military backupo be there but for it to be unseen unless they decide ey needed and aed for it. the united states wuld like iraq tonce andor a solve the sectarian differences that have kept tem from making re economic d political proess. they're worried about the elections upcoming in january.

te this afterno mr. obama and prime minter maliki appeed together after their white house mting. >> now we' in the midst of a full transition. to a comprehensi partnership between united states and iaq based on mutual respect. and iis a top priorityf my administraon. >> i have diussed today with president ama about ways to activate the strategic relation the economic front, cultal front, education fro, comrcial front and in every poiblerea where the unite statescan play arole in supporting the iraqi government and the effort othe iraqi govnment to build a state of w, a ste based on constitution d federalism. >> wanted to go aittle deeper tonight on iraqi/americ rations so we are joined fr

washington byoost hiltermann. he is with the international crisis group. thanks ve much for being th us. >> thank you. >> it been several week now ofcourse, sincell u.s. trps in iraqulled outf the cities and moved to thr bases in the countryside. what s the affect been for ecurity in that country? >> i think on t security ont we don't see a huge diffence because aerican troops wereot realy present in urban areas to any great extent expect r the capital baghdadnd this is the one placewhere the iraqi security fors are strongest in all othe country. so the impact has been minimal. i think the security situation has rained fairly stabilever the past few months. bombs continuto go off especially in areas th are less secure. some twnsike mosul remai profoundly unhpy places. but american forces weren reallythere in gre numbers to bin with. but t impact fromhe

withdrawal of tops from urban areas mostly political. it's an important milestone from the obama administrati. it's thefirst step of the troop withdral that it has announced. and secondly, it is often incdibly great importance for the maliki governme because they were ae to claim victory to say, lien, american troops are leaving. iraq is our country ande can manage ourselves. >> what would happen, say, if that security situation though were to deteriorate further? >> well, itcould. because we're facingegislative elections in january 2010. and beyond that with an american troop withdral you could wll see at some ofhe political groups thaare talking tod may end up fighting. if that haens, we don't know what could happen. it could really deteriorae. our significant fau lines in iraq with proble that have remained unaddressed. thsurge brought us a measure of securitybut i dinot bring political des and i think this is extremely alarming a this is one reason why the obama

administration is starting to put some tention on the need for political deals iraq. well speaking of hat, vice president bden recently in raq. he report ld put a lot of pressure o the goverent to move me swiftly to reach political agreements amongst the rival groups. have you seen progress? >> n yet. i think at is required is real american diplomatic muscle, supporting the ited nations. the unitedations is heavily volved now in discussions oer some of the st difficult questions. and there is a process for that. butalks areoing very slowly. things arepretty stuck. and i think we have kursh elections in a few days. and then have iraqi parliament electi. it's going to very difficu to close anydeals during election ason. butreparatory workwill be undertaken now with aerican support. and then hofully se deals can be reached some time ne spri. >> joost ltermann, thank you very much for speaking wh us. >> my pleasure.

thank you. in afghanistan today, two more american ervicemen were killed in a bo attack. tt brings the death count for july to 34. its the deadlst month for americansince the start othe war. arly eight yearsago. 18 british troo havelso been killed this month. with roaide bombs now the leading killer gros, itn reports that the is a continuing ctroversy in britain about t availability helicoprs to transport soldiers and marines more safely. >> reporter: e political pressure is ring on the deployment of helicoers to afghanisn. the route centersunlift hicopters such as chinooks which are used carry troops. thergue being that soldiers are mor at risk of being killed by improved expsive devic ifhey're traveling by ground thantransport by air. now the foreign office minister lord malik brown has stepped into the fray tellinghe daily telegrap -- >> we definily tonight have

enoughelicopters. whenou have insurgent strikes what you needbove alllse is mobility. >> rorter: 18 britishsoldiers have died in afgnistan since the beginning of thi month. 15 of them were killed either by expsions or ieds. seve british sodiers have died in operaonanther claw. brow says that should he been forewarned abouthe likelihood about the sudden rising casualties stemming fr this offensive. dispos bomb expert who died on mond in helmand. e 28-yr-old from the royal logistic corps is describe by his commanding officer as unbelievably courageous. his we says she has not ju lost a husband but a best frnd. appear not only a war in afghanistan but also a bate between the britis army and downingstreet. the invention of malik brownwho leavehis post at the end of

this week. criticized the governme for failing to supply eugh troops, equipment o vehicles. the chief dissenttaff have made simar asseions. >> the mo that you can increase your tactical flexibility by moving people by helicopr then the more uncertain, more unpredictable your movements come to the enemy. >> pple like the prime minister the secretary of state, the defense, the genera now in their hearts of what we've got in afghantan is not advoce to meet the needs. what they're trying to do isut on -- at least some of them are putting on apublic face that there is enough equipmentthere. >>eporter: the government's always said that fiting t taliban inafghanistan is essential to preventg teorism in ritain. but lo malik brwn says somalia and pakista prevent a greater threat intestingly, just ahead of the primeminister's press conferenc he's issued a clarificatio sayinghey're without doubts suffient resoces for current british military operations in

afghanistan. prime minister goron brown also weighed today. and that more areon the way. the war in afghanistan is growing onvery front. and there e some concerns in that partf the world tat it cold spill over into neighboring ntral asian countries with predominantly muslim population. one o those cotvies yrgyzstan where t u.s. has an important base. the kyrgks areebating a mitary presence there. >> reporter: waiting for the next flights to afghanisn, the manas air base in northern kyrgstan is a critical link in theupply chain providing u.s. rces in afghanistan with uel, hardware and additnal troops. but all of this cos money, since a new deal in june, t .s. has been paying an aual rent of $60 million. >> tnslator: to keep the base going, the u.s.as ready to pay three times more than they used to. they want rations with

kyrgyzstan based o partnership but the government in bishceictated the terms. that shows how important th base is to the u.s. >> repter: it's summer vacation that the scol a few kilometer it is fromase, but even now there's plenty going on. u.s. soldiers arewelcome here. achers say they've been a help to the schl. >> translator:henever somethin needs to be repaired or needspaintg, the americans always jump in t help, but st of all, i appreciate the good relationship they hve wh our chilen. >> reporter: is a different story in villages under the man aflight path. he in marran minya, locals have little sympathy wh the u.s.presence. >> translator: themericans only cause harm, tat's for sure. it wou be tter if they went home.

>> translator: all th trees have withered away. all of our love pears and apples. fruit just doesn't grow anymore. >> report: villagers cmplain that e u.s. planes have been dumpg fuel before landing. causing damage to theealth and the local eironment. u.s. denial mt with a eptical response. >> translato they're as you dumping somethi from their planes. i don'know what it is but the air gets worse and e weather changes. we've been prosed help but nothingas happened so far. >> reporter: russia is also uncomfortablewith the u. presence ithe region, but analts stress that doesn't mean mosco wnts america to fa inafghanistan. a victorious taban could threaten russia's borders. instead, mosc sees the u.s. as a competitor in a sategically imrtant region in its own backrd. >> translato central asia is ch in raw material like atural gas and oil. thatakes the whole region interesting.

at's why russia, china, and themericans are competing f influence here >> rorter: for now, analysts say the conflictin afghanist takes precedence. both u.s. and russi want secuty in the region. but if and when that'achieved that competiti wil heat up more tn ever. > the pentagon told us today therwas one emergency fu dumping incident over kyrgyzstan in 08. but that "evarated before it hit the groundnd caused no ha to the environment." there are new signs today thateace talks between israel and syria might resume soon. the turkish pme ministe who left for metings in syria today, said that he's gotten requests to media new netiations. syriacut off earlier in protest talks to protest the invasn of gaza. and now to udi arabia, which tonight'seing accused by amnesty internatiol of gross violations of hun rights by secretly detaining thousan of people under the cover oa cpaign against terrorism. the report said the prisoners

are held witht access to lawyers and th many are tortured. a saudi offial told t associated press that e amnesty charges "have to b proven." australia began a rst huan trials of a n swine flu vaccine this week. with winter under way in the southern hemisphere austrail why is ring to try to sp the spread of the new flu tha has killed 41eople there so far. here in the u.s., the government says it needs several volunteers to sn up to test a new swine flu vaccineow in develment before theisease re-emerges this fall. > secretary of stat hillary clintosent a new warning to iran tay. sayi the united states would nsider crting a "defense umbrella." t promise ofu.s. retaliatio over the middleast if iran conties to try touild nuclearweapons. mrs. cinton later said her comments did notmean the obama administration wl stop trying torevent iran from building a

bomb. mr clinton'sn thaild today for the meeting of t sociation of southeast asn nations or asean. ande have the latest fr al jazeera englh. >> reporter: hillary clint taking center stage at the ean regional forum. with all attention on her she tk the opportunity to single ou the two countries that ar no towinghe internional line. >> complete and irreversible de-nuclearization is theonly viable path for north korea. we do not intend to reward north korea just for returning to the table nor do we itend to reward them for actns they have ready commied to taking and then reneged on. the pa is op to them and it is up to them to follow it. unless and until tey do, they will faceinternational isolation a the relenting pressure of glob sanctions. reporter: this denounment

aftethe secretary of state earlier claimed that north korea and m an mar were working together to acquire weapons and nuclear technogy. a claim that's been ceived with som skepticism. >> s far as myanmar is concerned they've got long way if th've got any sort of technical capacity t research and to make nuclear weapons, let alone aeapon th could be deliverable. >>eporter: both north krea and myanmar have represents here. hey've meeting with membersof asean regional forum including the united stas and china on thursday. but asean's pocy of noninterference, tre's little hopehe underlying issues wil be resolved at this meeti. but one cuntry thatan make a differee in dealing th nth korea and myanmar is refusingo talkublicly about the issue. is a key player at ts meeting. >> so what have you said about rth korea? >> reporter: the u.s. absence ensuring the bushdministration h influenced ina's influence the regions. the u.s. has skipped this

meeting twi in the past thr years. but washington nowants to make it clear tha its keen to make up lost grnd in asia. clinton has embraced the asn regional foru stngthening u.s. ties aemphasizing the importae of train with the ain ten-member group. for aseans whoremain relevan thoug it has live to its se of the bargain. >>the sun came up over as today, whh of course isot really news burke wheit disappeared hind moon for more than siminutes shorly after sunrise, peop from india, to china had verysimilar reactions to the longest eclise of the 21st centu. in china, for instance, tudents, scientists and the ju plain curious gathered to watch the sun slow-vashing act. in thaild, there were regious rituals. ev in north korea, state television ran pictures of solar eclipse watching. but theilly look of theery

necessy protective eclips watching glaes seems to cort hole of asia from pakistan to japan where even a se lion got in othe act. in india, the lgest eclipse of this yng century had special significce drang both pilgrims and tourists. abc australia sally sara report it is from ancient cityf verrenase. >> reporter: thearrived in the daness, tens of thousands of people gatherin on the banks of india's holy ver gang ganches. it was a maiveumanity as pilgrims prepared for t magic of the eipse. >> like a party. people comend enjoy the sites, yeh. >> reporter:he eclipse began on indis west coast leaving a path of darkness across the country towards china and eventuallthe pacic ocea the sptacle unfolded across some of the most hvily populatedlaces on earth and

drew enthusists froafar. >> it's ite amazing. so this is magil. >> reporter:he last slither of the sun disappeared behind the moon to the cheers ofhe crowd. it was drk for more than six minutes before the spectacular gw around the age the moon's aters. the reaction to the eclipse sends a ne proordary window into modern india. many people are caught in between scnce and superstition. prides itself on a highech economy is alsdeeply rooted in ancient tradition. or many there waselief when the n finally reappeared. pple go thanks to their gods for a rurn to normality. >> some happy. very hap to t people. >> reporter: this rarkable collusion oumanity and natu left some visitors full of emotion. it w a sight they never forget. >> yes, iwas very --

yes. >> reporter: sally sarah, abc news, verreny. > tonight, we begin a new series, we call it "how they s it." our repting partners from around t world have their own take on many of the same sties at the america news media brings every day. brings a very different perspeive. britain's itn telesion took a very poignt look. like wells fargo report huge prits after a government bailou faisal ism filed this report from baltimore. ♪ oh the wells fao wagon is coming down the street and past my door ♪ >> reporter: today the wel

fargo wagon posted bilons of dollrs more in profit. just the latest of america's super banks sort o rened their aquaintance with super bucks but with the wheels coming off the jobs market and intensifyin housing crisisnd ordinary amera struggling to see much benefit, ere's much angeas relief. >> they threwreed and manipulation of t market, brght downhe finacial system. theye not answerable. and we,he average citizen, have to bail them out so that they can go back t their summer homes and their limousines. >> makeit more dangerous actually. perhapthey didn't plan on it but looking back, it i quite an amazing stea >>eporter: the banks' positio knockedut by this week's ficial news that the govnment bailout could, in theory, cost $23 trilln if

everything collapsed again. just a few about months ago ameri's entire banking system was on the precipic and were not for hu government inteention of one form or the other many of these baks sily would notexist today. yet a fe months and my of ose same banks are now making record prfits. and planning buer bonuses for their bankers. surprise that beyondhe skyscrapers ordinary america's notvery happy. this i your baltimore road to the property boom li no other and the crash h been particularly painful. 33,000 repossessis and foreclosures, homelessness and a looming budt crisis fom the collapsand property taxes. 2025 shirley avue was seized back by wells fargo in bruary. the bank has left it derry lect, rat infested and now is a blite on the neighbs still left in eir homes. >> do notng.

not trying to do nothing. as i said one timebefore, whoever -- whatever bank own this, th need to be shut down. they ought to be ashamed of theelves. a bank tha own a property that look like this. >> reporter: so faranyf amica's banks and banke the subprimcrisis appears to be nearly over but for ordinary amerans it's far fr over, as foreclosures skyrocket and the subprimecrisis, metamorphsis into a geralized housing crisis as employment in america to top 10%. the banks may haveoved on. but the ameca that consume so ch on edit, the america that's aumatically lnelizes the successof wealth nkers, th america thatwe've known for so long appears to be moving on to. faisal islamchannel 4 news, ltimore.

finally tonight, we havean cerpt from thelatest edion of the pbs series wi angle. ."alled "the market maker." one story one woman's effts to combat a seemingly nev-ending cycle ofinen ethiopia creating that contry's very fir commodities exchange 's a task oachcated by both a world wide financialrisis and a steelearning curve about economics. >> reporter:he first stop is a meetingith local coffee producerand traitors who are skeptical abo the ecs. [ speaking in nativtongue ]

>> reporter: after a brf stop to inaugurate a new quality control facily the te heads to inspect a warehouse. the whole exchang is based on real commodity stored in real warehouses, a there are real questions abou whether this is acceptable warehse at all. [ speaking native tongue ]

>>ne thi about the lineage is veryood at making the impossible to becomepossible. thas what i have learn you putyour mind into it. lieve in it. believe in yrself. believe inour team. anythi is possible. >> en times get tough and course they are sometis very difficult. at the end of the day, it's just doing wt i have to dond king sure that m teamnd i are focused on the jobt hand because at's really thenly thing thatctually matters. >> wide angle's "the market maker. "it premiresonight on pbs. and also see it online at pbs.org/widngle. and th's "worldfocus" for this wednesday night. a reminder visit our website at rldfocus.org, where you can ways find more information about all of ourstories. i'm marn savidge in new york. as always,hank you very much for joining us. we'll look for you backere again tomorrow and anytime on the web. until then, have a goonight.

"wodfocus" is made ssible, in part, by the foll funders -- -- captions by vitac -- www.vitacom

he dd"... anztec grave site is revealing bones of snish conquistadors who were captured, sacriced, and eaten. woman: the priest would tearhe heart out and offer ito the sun.